The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced their 2012 award winners today, and if there is one thing we learned, it’s this:

The Artist is the real deal.

The BAFTA Awards serve as one of the final major lead-ins to the Academy Awards, and if you didn’t have The Artist as the winner of multiple major awards at the Oscars prior to today, well, then it’s time for you to rehash that ballot.

The Artist took home 7 awards at this year’s BAFTAs, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), and Best Original Screenplay, categories in which it is also nominated for the Academy Awards. The Artist, this year’s awards darling, was nominated for 12 BAFTA Awards in total.

The other big-time nominee at the BAFTAs, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was nominated for 11 awards, came away with just two wins: Best British Film, which it was a shoo-in to win, and Best Adapted Screenplay, for which it is also nominated at the Oscars.

John Hurt, one of the many stars of Tinker, was also recognized as this year’s winner of the Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema award, given out annually to an individual who has made a valued contribution to British film.

Aside from Dujardin’s win for Best Actor, where he beat out heavyweights Clooney, Pitt, Fassbender, and Oldman, the other awards in the acting categories went to Meryl Streep (Best Actress, The Iron Lady), Christopher Plummer (Supporting Actor, Beginners), and Octavia Spencer (Supporting Actress, The Help). Streep is the only award winner among those 4 who did not take home the same prize at the SAG Awards two weeks ago. Viola Davis won the SAG Award for Best Actress.

However, with Streep’s BAFTA win, the race is still neck-and-neck, as either her or Davis could seemingly win the Oscar in two weeks.

Hugo, which leads all Oscar nominees with 11 nominations, had been nominated for 10 awards at the BAFTA Awards. Scorsese’s mega-effects cinematic love letter took home two BAFTAs: Best Production Design and Best Sound. Martin Scorsese also was named an Academy Fellow by the BAFTA, one of the highest honors to bestowed by any film academy. The Fellowship recognizes individuals who have made a lasting, impressive impact on the history and future of cinema.

The Artist‘s other 3 wins were for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Score. Each of those could have big implications for the Academy Awards, where The Artist figures to go head-to-head with Hugo for Score and Costume Design, and The Tree of Life for Cinematography. The Tree of Life was not nominated for any BAFTA Awards.